Student
08/10/2013

Stella: the car to beat even with four passengers

Solar Team Eindhoven’s Family Car Stella was the fastest on day three of the World Solar Challenge. It was the first time Stella traveled with four passengers on board (including the driver). Notwithstanding the packed car they managed to cover over 500 kilometers going almost 100 km/h on average, and reaching top speeds of 120 km/h.

by Tom Jeltes

At one forty-five local time, the Eindhoven team finished in Alice Springs, the final destination for the Cruiser category on day three. Stella finished more than fifteen minutes before the Australian SunSwift, and nearly thirty minutes earlier than her German competitors from Bochum. Since it’s not just speed that counts in this category, but the number of passengers the car travels with as well, Solar Team Eindhoven hit a home run today.

For STE team manager Lex Hoefsloot, today they realized the goal they set for this World Solar Challenge. “We wanted to convince the world the car of the future is a solar car. I think by achieving what we did today, we showed them it’s true.”

So far, Stella has completed half the race. Tomorrow she’ll continue towards the finish in Adelaide.

Share this article

Student
18/10/2013

Solar-powered triumphal tour straight across the outback

Take some twenty students from different Departments, eighteen months to design and build a solar-powered family car and take part in a race across Australia. The plan was ambitious and the result was magnificent. Last week Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) won the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge 2013 with Stella.

view article

Columns Student Research
15/10/2013

CLMN | Game changers

World Champions! Everyone at TU/e spent the past week following the activities of Solar Team Eindhoven in Australia. They achieved the impossible: at their debut of TU/e in the World Solar Challenge, the team seized the first prize in the Cruiser class. An incredible performance, which in a few years might turn out to be even bigger than it appears to be at this moment. Mark my words.

view article

Columns
15/10/2013

Between a Dream and a Hard Place

Three men are woodworking on a parking lot near the Eindhoven’s Canal. I ask one of them what the heck they are doing. One of those geezers responds that he’s woodworking and adds a big “DÚH!”. I hesitate, but decide to go on asking the second woodworker. The second woodworker keeps silence as he gazes over the long canal. Finally, his faces forms a big smirk and he responds that he helps to build a boat.

view article

Student
09/10/2013

Tough luck for Stella, but it’s ok

During today’s fourth heat, Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) suffered a minor setback for the first time during the World Solar Challenge. Stella had to pull over for a new tire, and the team had to fix a cable. It was partly due to this delay that the Eindhoven solar car finished behind direct competition Germany and Australia. But because Stella raced with four passengers, STE is still the best team in the virtual overall ranking.

view article

Student
07/10/2013

Solar team Eindhoven on schedule in Australia

During the first two days of the 2013 World Solar Challenge, solar-powered family car Stella created by TU/e was the fastest car in the Cruiser category. After setting the fastest time in the first run on Sunday, yesterday Stella had only the German team from Bochum to fear, which finished just behind them. So far, the family cars have traveled 988 kilometers of the three-thousand-kilometer track from Darwin to Adelaide.

view article

Student Campus
24/09/2013

TU/e ready for World Solar Challenge

As far as software and strategy goes, they could still do a bit better, but other than that Solar Team Eindhoven and Stella are ready. The TU/e students and their self-made solar-powered family car have been in Australia for a few weeks now. The World Solar Challenge will start on October 6.

view article

Campus Student Research
04/07/2013

Student team unveils world’s first solar-powered family car

The Solar Team Eindhoven (STE) of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) presented the world’s first solar-powered family car today. ‘Stella’ is the first ‘energy-positive car’ with room for four people, a trunk, intuitive steering and a range of 600 kilometers. This is the car being entered by the student team in the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge that starts in Australia in October 2013.

view article

Cursor

This is student life at TU/e

Stella: the car to beat even with four passengers

Discussion

Send Comment

Tags

Most read articles